But you can’t focus on the cost of the Purple Line and not the cost of a maglev. This graph shows the amount Maryland, counties, and the private sector would all have to pay to build the Purple Line, not counting federal money already pledged and money already spent. On the right is the expected maglev cost.

Alpert says Maryland is the only state that has shown interest in a federal pot of money devoted to studying maglev development. “Japan is offering $5 billion in loans to help make the line happen, but that money would still have to be paid back,” writes Alpert. “Besides the Purple and Red Lines, there are plenty of ways to spend less money that have immediate, clear benefit.”

Elsewhere on the Network today: TheCityFix looks at how people-oriented infrastructure influences urban culture; Bike Pittsburgh reports that a new bike lane on a major downtown thoroughfare is seeing a lot of use; and ATL Urbanist maps the potential future of Atlanta bike commuting.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Since Republican Larry Hogan was elected governor in November, transit advocates in Maryland have been holding their breath. During the campaign, Hogan threatened to kill the mostly-funded and ready-to-go Red Line in Baltimore and the Purple Line in the DC suburbs — two of the biggest transit projects on tap in the U.S. A budget […]

Since Republican Larry Hogan was elected governor in November, transit advocates in Maryland have been holding their breath. During the campaign, Hogan threatened to kill the mostly-funded and ready-to-go Red Line in Baltimore and the Purple Line in the DC suburbs — two of the biggest transit projects on tap in the U.S. A budget […]

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan says the Purple Line, a long-planned light rail expansion of the DC transit system in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, will move forward. But Hogan stiffed the people of Baltimore by canceling the Red Line in favor of road projects. Dan Malouff at Greater Greater Washington reports that Hogan made his announcement yesterday. […]

Seeing shovel-ready transit projects destroyed by petty politics has been all too common the last few years (see: Scott Walker and Wisconsin high-speed rail, or Chris Christie and the ARC tunnel). Even so, this one’s a doozy. Maryland Governor-elect Larry Hogan has the power to halt two major urban transit projects that have the planning […]